Lots of Color!

 Right now, I am truly thrilled with how the rock garden is looking. Sure there are still bare spots, but after only two years of trying to bring it back to life on a budget, I'm feeling as if this might be something I can make happen and end up with it looking really nice.

That said, a few of these pictures are not in the rock garden, but I'll tell you which ones.

All these photos are staged. Not that I moved anything around except the camera, but I did work at trying to get a nice angle to capture the most different colors in one shot.

This one is the donkeytail (yellow) with pink moss phlox behind and above it. One grape hyacinth and one violet snuck into the corners.

I showed you this same view a few days ago, but it's much better now. The Erlicheer daffodils are in full bloom, and more of the grape hyacinths have opened.

Still in the rock garden... I purposely left a lot of common violets because they can nicely fill in spaces both with spring color and greens later. They are starting to bloom, and so is the moss phlox behind them. I used to have four colors of moss phlox- blue, white, this pink, and a candystripe one. So far all I'm seeing this year is pink, but it's early yet.

One more picture from the rock garden. Even though there is bare dirt between these two plants, I'm calling this a huge success. In the lower part is 'Firecracker' Sedum that I showed you more than once last year. The sedums are just starting to fill in and get their summer colors. This will spread even more as the season goes on, but the whole plant has only been in place for one year.

Above it, with the little purple flowers is a rock cress. I bought and planted a little 3" pot of this last year while holding my breath. It should be a perfect rock garden plant, but I have previously killed a couple of them. But look at it! I know there is nothing for scale, but it has definitely grown, even though it didn't look all that happy last fall. And, much to my surprise, it's blooming! Maybe it will even get more blossoms, but I took a picture now so I wouldn't miss it. As these two plants fill in the space better, there won't be that ugly stripe of bare dirt.

Now we will move to other garden spaces. This is in the front flower bed, and again I've shown you part of this already this year. However, now we have not only common blue primrose, with the 'Blackberry Wine' corydalis behind it, but we can add the yellow cowslip primrose, the tall one behind the corydalis. I moved all the primroses again last fall, so I'm pleased they tolerated it well.

Here's a daffodil that I'm not sure is a favorite, but I have lots of it, and I do enjoy the fact that it's a little different. This is Narcissus delnashaugh. Before it opens it looks as if it's going to be yellow and white, and then develops this peachy color. I show you this most every year, but it's very reliable.

And the last for today is another favorite of mine. This is the pure white Mt. Hood daffodil. They are also quite large.

I spent a lot of today getting ready for something that will happen tomorrow and Friday. I'll be blogging early tomorrow, and will tell you what I'm doing then!

Other than that... you know the drill. I edited, I wrote one of my columns, I did errands, I puttered.

See Next Round of Color

A Little Help from a Friend

At the end of this past winter, I discovered I had a bad, dead leaner tree over my "big bed" flower garden. Broken off at the bottom and hung up in the maple and the mulberry.

Dan (trail friend) stopped by with a small chain saw. He knew how to deal with the tree without getting either one of us killed or maimed.

It actually twisted a bit coming down, so it didn't even land on the flowers! Dan cut up the large sections enough that I can move them. He also helped me move something that was too heavy for me to do alone. I really appreciated all the help!

My car had some repairs done, so I got in 3 miles of walking with dropping that off and picking it up, bell choir practice, some editing, and a couple of other things. I feel like it was a full day.

Miles hiked in 2025: 144.7

See Blooming Today

Blooming Today

 These daffodils have been around for a while, but they haven't bloomed this profusely in years. Maybe they are just finally happy to not have to compete with weeds. This is a variety called 'Kaydee.' The trumpets are more the color of creamsicles than the brighter orange it looks like here. I like this one a lot. About 10" tall and they are near the top of the rock garden. Not sure how long ago I bought these- around 2000. This is the best they've ever looked.

And speaking of daffodils. I told you I had moved a whole lot of bulbs to the "Big Bed" that needs a ton of work. Here's what I mean. It's stuffed with blossoms. About four varities, all mixed together. There's not a lot else left down there except some iris. Hopefully that will bloom this year since I have managed to return some sun to the area.

Just another daf that I really like. It spreads very slowly, but I've moved some over the years so that I have a few growing in different places. Hopefully that will mean they won't completely disappear. Variety 'Duke of Windsor.' I think I've had these since before 1990. They are full size- not in the rock garden

And back to the rock garden. This just makes me really happy. This is the Donkeytail, Euphorbia myrsinites, that I bought last year. I got it with a bit of trepidation because I had previously killed one, and it's supposed to be really hard to kill. Well, this one is happy, happy, blooming, and I hope having babies (supposed to do so prolifically) because I'd like to put it a couple of other places.

I did a variety of chores today, including... autumn olive of course (I'm trying to do a little bit almost every day). Shopping (stay tuned for a big purchase), editing and stuff.

See Next Round of Color

Yesterday's Hike

I spent most of today just doing yard and garden work, so I'll catch you up on yesterday's hike. Cathy and I, with new acquaintance Barb (who also joined us last week), went out to hike at West Shore Community College. It wasn't sunshine-and-fall-leaves gorgeous like the hike in the link below, but it was fine.

Here are Cathy and Barb on the bridge at the south end of the pond.

The pond doesn't have color around it yet- the grass is finally getting green, but not the leaves.

We did see a pair of bufflehead ducks.

We walked enough of the mowed trails that are the cross-country team course that we got in a total of 3.2 miles. I wore the big pack. It's feeling easier.

Sandhill cranes here today, and I almost stepped on a garter snake.

Miles hiked in 2025: 141.7

West Shore Community College trails, 3.2 miles

See WSCC Hike- Try Again

Brunch Buddies

 The entire first part of the day was filled with an event at the Bridges Church of Manistee. The "ladies society" (or whatever such things are called now) put on a spectacular brunch. I was the speaker, and I gave my talk about the North Country Trail.

The event was planned by the oldest daughter of my good friend, Betty, who has shown up on the blog from time to time. Wendy did a wonderful job. First of all, she kept on top of the organizational parts, checking in with me often. She'd obviously kept in touch with all the other key players too. They had great food and lots of it. They had plenty of people there to help at the right times. Very smooth.

The decor was so perfect! I had to keep my napkin to bring home.

The centerpieces had camping themes too. I suspect there were more different ones, but I got pictures of two.

So, I gave my media program about the NCT. Then there was a question time, and then I sold books.

Got a picture of Betty, me, and Wendy. Great memories here and hopefully still more to come. Long ago, Wendy spent a couple of months with us when our Steve was a toddler, helping to care for him. Now, she's a grandmother of four.

Got home from that at 2 pm, and immediately went for a walk with Cathy. Maybe pictures of that tomorrow. I'll save the mileage update until I share about the hike. All in all, a great day, and very full.

Have I ever said that Betty was the first friend I made when we moved up here the fall of 1969? Wendy was in grade school!

See Gardening with Betty

Next Round of Color

Here's one of my favorite early, mini daffodils. This is 'Jetfire.' It's a fairly common variety, but that's OK. Easily identified with the orange trumpets and backswept corona, it shows up nicely against the Sedum album which is the red behind it. After misidentifying this for 30 years, I now know that it is a red-leaved variety, possibly one called 'Red Ice.' The flowers are white, which is why it has the name album.

All the way down at the bottom of the rock garden (the previous picture is near the top), is a daffodil called 'Erlicheer,' with multiple flowers on each stalk. It's really too big for the rock garden, but for now it's OK in the space where it is. I haven't figured out anything to plant with it for later color, because the leaves are so large and coarse.

You can see the the blue grape hyacinths are starting to bloom. They are basically all over the rock garden. And that is fine. They bloom early and the leaves die back before other things want to have center stage. Some of the ones you see blooming are the same ones whose leaves were eaten earlier this year, so it's good to know they will still bloom despite abuse.

This is fitting since this forsythia was a birthday gift from my friend Betty many years ago.

The next one is to demonstrate how colors of the succulents can vary from season to season. This is Sedum 'Angelina' (left) and Sempervivum 'Gold Rush.' Mid season both should be quite gold. The 'Angelina' will be greenish-gold, and the 'Gold Rush' did get fairly gold colored by August last year. But at this time of year they are orange-green and maroon! Weird.

And I can't resist showing you this space again now that it's "settled in." I'm really, really liking this. It's the Lewisia and the Sempervivum 'Black' again.

Just as a reminder, I'm SO tickled at the color of 'Black.' This is the darkest it was last year. But it may lighten up as the season goes on. We shall see!

I worked on the usual today- editing, autumn olive, a few other projects.

Mini health update that I meant to post yesterday. This is concerning the post-shingles neuralgia. I am down to 1.5 ibuprofen a day. I take a half in the morning and a whole one at bedtime because it's worse at night. My body tells me when I can cut back because I find myself forgetting to take a pill. I'll get there!

See It's Beginning

Cheers to Lucky Sevens

Ha! It's Diet Coke... I don't drink anything stronger. But here's a toast to two lucky sevens in my upcoming year, and another for the first 70-degree day of the year (although that is a little warm for me). Actually, I didn't do anything particularly special for my birthday, but there is a lot of satisfaction in the little pleasures.

For example, I'm going to share the evolution of the rock garden reclamation. This is a picture taken today that is straight-on from the back yard. Sorry, it's not filled with color yet, even green, because things seem to be coming to life slowly this year. That said... I'm working on it earlier than I have in the past two years. Some spaces can be carefully weeded since I have a pretty good idea of what is in them.

And on April 27, 2024. Last year, the flowers were about 2 weeks ahead of this year, and this is a tighter shot. But I guess I wasn't regularly taking a picture from that angle last year. For example, the moss phlox is blooming in this picture. This year, it's barely greening up yet.

October 24, 2023

In the spring of 2023 it was a grass covered mess. I began trying to reclaim it in June of that year.



Trying to make something of this mess brings me so much joy!

And here's a horrible job that, even so, brings me joy to see progress. I got one (of at least 25) complete autumn olive cut out and treated with Targon. All the stumps that I treated with it last year have not resprouted.

Mostly, for gifts, I asked for and received money to go toward working on the rock garden.

No hike today, but I think there will be one in a couple of days.

See Birthday 2024

This Way!

 Remember that I said Monica and I went out for not-a-hike on the NCT on Monday? Well, today, Dan and Loren and I went to do the same things.

Our chapter is hosting a seminar on using the Avenza mapping program on May 10, and we leaders are getting our ducks lined up... ok, hopefully we will at least be able to find the ducks.

Loren checks out a location with Avenza.

We practiced the stuff we want to "teach," and then also talked for quite a while about chapter business since we are all on the board. Quite a pleasant and productive morning.

After I got home, I did some work outside. However, I did computer work before we even went to the woods because, again, I did not sleep last night. I figured I might as well get up and do things so that I'd accomplish something before I crashed.

Best view of the day... I can't believe how nice the rock garden is looking this early. OK... you have to stage the views to get lots of color like this. But the point is, there are enough things blooming that I CAN get an occasional picture like this. Pink Lewisia, purple Pasqueflower, white Grape Hyacinth, and yellow Tete-a-Tete mini dafs. Some nice maroon foliage with the bronze ajuga, and some of the sempervivums,

And that errant Pasqueflower that has come up in the yard for the past two years now has a stake marking it so I can move it. Two years ago, I didn't mark it and then couldn't find the leaves. Last year, I put a wire cage around it but that blew away, and then I couldn't find the leaves. This year... I'm gonna redeem it! That stake shouldn't come out on its own.

Once again, because of what we were doing, even though we were on the trail, not enough actual distance was covered to bother counting it as a hike.

I haven't crashed yet, but I think I will sleep tonight.

See Blackie Finds Pinkie

Two Old, One New

 This is the 'Blackberry Wine' corydalis I got from Ester years and years ago. It always looks great in this early part of the season. I might try a little bit in the rock garden, but I think that will be too much sun for it even though it is a perfect height.

Here's one I may get yelled at for keeping. It's Lesser Celandine or Fig Buttercup, formerly Ranunculus ficaria, but now Ficaria verna. It can be very invasive. However, it's always just stayed neatly in this one area. It adds a nice blanket of color here in early spring. I can always start ripping if it wants to branch out, but I've had it for about 25 years. The leaves and everything disappear before mid-summer. I'm going to try again this year to put marigolds in that area later. I started a flat of seeds.

Here's the newbie! Like the Lewisia I showed you yesterday, I have tried to grow this plant before with no success. Although, the other times I tried to grow it from seed. We'll see if starting with a mature plant solves the problem. It's an Icelandic poppy, and the variety is 'Spring Fever Mix.' I love how it has yellow and orange flowers on the same plant.

I edited and worked on plant records for indoor work, and did a little gardening and a lot of autumn olive removal outside. Of course, you can hardly tell I worked on the autumn olive. I have taken a "before" picture, so maybe in the fall it will look like I did something.

See Blackie Finds Pinkie